After the emancipation of slavery in the 1800’s, African Americans have struggled to be treated with the same equal rights as Europeans. Even with the laws that were pasted to protect African Americans there were states that ignored and created new laws to overturn the laws to protect African Americans. The ignorant of Europeans who denied African Americans the equal rights the laws stated they deserved. African Americans decided to stand up for themselves by developing non violent protest movement to fight for the equal rights of African Americans. ("Civil Rights Movement") Martin Luther King Jr. became the leader of the non violent protest movement in the 1950’s.The development of Martin Luther King Jr. in this era started when an African American woman named Rosa Parks, who refused to give up her seat to a white man in Montgomery, Alabama.
The Civil Rights Movement was a time during the 1950’s and 1960’s to eliminate segregation and gain equal rights. In order to determine whether the Civil Rights movement was able to create change in America, one must assess the extent to which social and political was changed by the movement. Socially, people were separated and treated unequally depending on their race. Politically, to bring justice to race equality by passing the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act within the nation. Thus, the Civil Rights movement was able to create significant social and political change in America.
However, many southern states found ways around the laws to disenfranchise the black populations. They did this by introducing a ‘Grandfather Clause’, which is that only people whose grandfather voted, gave them the ability to vote. Also literacy test was another method used, which in most ways wasn’t made fairly and even well educated people were disenfranchised and not allowed to vote. However, in 1946 President Truman established The President’s Committee on ‘Civil rights’, producing a report examining the experiences of racial minorities in America. The report was called ‘To Secure These Rights’, this report highlighted the problems facing African Americans and proposed radical changes to make American society better.
Reforms such as the Equal Pay Act of 1963 and the Civil Rights Act of 1964, are some of the more notable changes during the Cold War. As a result of events that transpired because of the Cold War, treatment of women and African Americans changed greatly, as the introduction of new policies made for a more equal society. Many sources have been consulted and their information will be presented in this research paper. Two sources have been selected for further analyzation, The Great Cold War by Gordon Barrass and A Hard And Bitter Peace by Edward Judge, for their origin, purpose, values and limitations. Word Count: 202 B.
Following the Second World War which African Americans had played such a large part in, and ended up still coming home to beatings and brutal racism, President Truman felt obliged to commit to Civil Rights for African Americans. Strongly demonstrated through his report titled ‘to secure these rights.’ in 1947, which outlined many of the hardships faced by African Americans and provided recommendations on how to solve them. Following the report several initiatives were pushed through by Truman, such as the signing of Executive Order 9980 and Executive Order 10308. These were crucial in improving the lives of African Americans as they guaranteed fair employment practices in the Civil Services and that defence contracts would not go to companies that discriminated against African Americans, hence empowering them in the workplace. On the other hand it could be argued that the Second World War’s influence was in fact limited.
Bayard Rustin’s Influential March In this paper I will describe the situation African Americans faced in the decades prior to the rise of the Civil Rights Movement in the 1950s and 1960s culminating in the 1963 March on Washington. I will also incorporate Bayard Rustin and how he has influenced this particular civil rights movement. Although largely behind the scenes, Bayard Rustin greatly impacted the civil rights movement in ways far greater than many people today may know. From playing a key role in the organization of the March on Washington, to influencing great activists such as Martin Luther King Jr., Bayard Rustin has shown relentless determination in achieving his goal of civil equality. The sources I am going to use to construct my paper will include both primary sources and secondary sources.
Between 1954 and 1968 in the country of America change was being heavily sought after in the area of black civil rights. Discrimination towards blacks was cemented into the law system, with the general public view from whites, especially in the south, agreeing with these. However the advancement of black Americans was the accomplishment of a progressive struggle which achieved much change for this suffering community. One man who was seen as an important figure for the ways in which change was created and the vastness of the support for campaigns which followed this main goal was Martin Luther King. I believe that the contribution of Martin Luther King was huge for the Civil Rights Campaign, however many important campaigners were overshadowed by King who possibly got too much credit when it was due elsewhere.
Overall, the Second World War was a turning point in the growth of the civil Rights of black Americans as it was a catalyst for change as it made black Americans more politically aware and feel that they had the right to demand change. It meant they gained support from the government, which was crucial. By the Korean War in 1951, the US military had been completely integrated. Blacks and whites fought alongside each other. It would be the beginning of a movement that would change American attitudes in the next two
The Black Power movement was a new era of ideals and methods to end racial segregation and inequality in America in the 1960s. They used a variety of different methods and attained to different ideals than Martin Luther King. Malcolm X was a main leader of the movement and he heavily pushed home the ideas of separatism, self-defence and Black Nationalism claiming that blacks would never be treated as equals under the current white system. It could be argued that Black Power did hinder the civil rights movement in the 1960s. It brought about the mass fragmentation of the movement and saw two main civil rights campaigners SNCC and CORE split from the cooperation of the NAACP and SCLC.
American History II/HIS 132N Instructor: Rex Etheridge April 4, 2012 The Civil Right Movement The laws passed to protect the people of the United States after the events of World War I, such as the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments, brought African Americans and other minorities a sense of belonging. Given the opportunity to proudly serve and fight for their country. However a stream of racial discrimination by white solidarity, took place right after these Amendments were passed and the Jim Crows laws violated these laws. Yet it wasn’t until the case of Brown v. Board of Education that speeded the process towards a Civil Right Movement. The Civil Right Acts of 1964 and the Voting Right Acts are but two pieces of legislation which made sure that these Amendments were not being violated.